Maria Pedroza, 65, knows she’s lucky to have her garden plot and dozens of chickens at her home to help provide her eggs and meat as her family suffers through the pandemic without a consistent source of income.
Over 100 gardeners that rely on the Stanford-Avalon community garden to supplement their diets though don’t have that option.
Many are undocumented, leaving them mostly ineligible for state and federal aid, leaving the garden as the closest they’ll get to a stimulus bill.
“At first, you couldn’t get eggs, you couldn’t get water, you couldn’t get rice or beans. You couldn’t get anything with which to eat well,” said Maria Pedroza.
According to the Los Angeles Food Policy Council’s Food System Dashboard, South L.A. has more liquor stores than grocery stores--about 800,000 residents to 91 grocery stores, compared to 119 liquor stores. And while liquor stores do have food, it’s unhealthy--chips, candy or food with a high shelf life.
Buying food was already a hassle for low-income Angelinos before the pandemic. Many families rely on the presence of EBT supported goods, which were cleared from shelves due to panic buying in the early weeks of L.A.’s stay-at-home order. Because of lack of transportation, families often coordinate rides to visit supermarkets.
“So you have to be able to budget and plan for something like that. And this just exasperated it,” said Sonya Vasquez, Chief Transformation Officer for Community Health Councils.
“I’m not going to go out and get infected. I just come here to water, then I go home and stay there. Since there’s no one here right now, I can be here without a mask on,” says Pedroza. “ Sometimes I want to bring a pool chair to lay back and enjoy the fresh air here.”
:Maria Pedroza’s face mask slips slightly off her nose as she washes off a Tejolote with water from a styrofoam cup before making a breakfast of Flores de Calabaza quesadillas at Stanford Avalon Community Garden on Friday, May 1, 2020 in Los Angeles, CA. “Plants are like human beings, because they, too, are alive. If you speak nicely to them, they grow beautifully.” The Stanford Avalon Community Garden stretches 11 city blocks under power lines, sandwiched between the 105 freeway and a freight train line. Over 100 gardeners and their families use their plots to help supplement their diet, and some give their extra food to the community.
Maria Pedroza poses for a portrait in her garden plot.
“My father is from the mountains in Oaxaca, and my mother is from Tepic, Nayarit. Well my father always grew corn and beans. So I’ve always liked that. I’ve always liked growing things. If you speak to them affectionately, they’ll understand you. And yes, it’s true. There are things that I think they don’t understand, and they do. I love everything related to animals and plants, they fascinate me.”
Javier Gomez cleans up his friend’s garden plot at Stanford Avalon Community Garden on Tuesday, May 19, 2020 in Los Angeles, CA. “I haven’t worked in three months. I come here to relieve my boredom. It’s affected me in every way.” Gomez spends most his days tending to his Calbasas and Kale, and hangs out with his friends. He is waiting for things to get better so that he can go back to work. The Garden stretches 11 city blocks under power lines, sandwiched between the 105 freeway and a freight train line. Over 100 gardeners and their families use their plots to help supplement their diet, and some give their extra food to the community.
Milpa leaves, which are used to steam tamales, freshly harvested from Ignacio Esqueda’s garden at Stanford Avalon Community Garden on Saturday, May 23, 2020 in Los Angeles, CA.
Maria Pedroza cuts fresh Milpa from a garden plot for a visitor at the Stanford Avalon Community Garden on Saturday, May 23, 2020 in Los Angeles, CA. “I have some daughters who live in East LA. I bring them nopales (cactus), spinach. For example, there are times when, let’s say, I want cilantro. I take five or six bunches, and give them to my kids. I’m producing them instead of buying them. And that saves me a lot of money. A lot. So when there’s squash, we eat squash. We eat all of what we have here.”
Wintermelon sits in the mid-afternoon sun in Javier Gomez’ plot at Stanford Avalon Community Garden on Saturday, May 23, 2020 in Los Angeles, CA.
Javier Gomez, center, helps a family choose a Wintermelon from his garden at Stanford Avalon Community Garden on Saturday, May 23, 2020 in Los Angeles, CA. “I haven’t worked in three months. I come here to relieve my boredom. It’s affected me in every way.” Gomez spends most his days tending to his Calbasas and Kale, and hangs out with his friends. He is waiting for things to get better so that he can go back to work at the garment factory.
Darlene Delgado, 11, takes a break in the shade after helping her abuela, Maria Pedroza, water her beet plants at Stanford Avalon Community Garden on Sunday, May 3, 2020 in Los Angeles, CA. Delgado and her brother, Coty, have been helping their abuela tend to her garden since they were little.
The ingredients of Maria Pedroza’s breakfast of Flores de Calabaza quesadillas, which includes fire roasted salsa with tomatoes and jalapeño, Flores De Calabaza, corn tortillas and cheese at Stanford Avalon Community Garden on Friday, May 1, 2020 in Los Angeles, CA.
Pole Beans lie on the ground of a gardener’s plot at Stanford Avalon Community Garden on Friday, May 1, 2020 in Los Angeles, CA.
558937_LA-FO-COMMUNITY-GARDENS_GAJ LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 01: Maria Pedroza’s breakfast of Flores de Calabaza quesadillas, which includes fire roasted salsa with tomatoes and jalapeño, Flores De Calabaza, corn tortillas and cheese at Stanford Avalon Community Garden on Friday, May 1, 2020 in Los Angeles, CA.
A box of Flores de Calabazas at Stanford Avalon Community Garden on Friday, May 1, 2020 in Los Angeles, CA. The flowers were in high demand, with lots of community members dropping looking to get some.
Ignacio Esqueda shows freshly picked green tomatillos from his garden at Stanford Avalon Community Garden on Tuesday, May 5, 2020 in Los Angeles, CA. Esqueda said he is lucky to still be employed, so he comes to the garden before work during the week and on the weekends. He said the garden has been helping him deal with “everything” in his life right now. He said he enjoys giving out his food for free to his friends and other gardeners, or even visitors to the garden.
Darlene Delgado, takes a break from the sun at her grandma's plot.
Javier Gomez poses for a portrait at his garden plot.
Ignacio Esqueda poses for a portrait with his tomatillos in front of his papaya tree.